A Letter to Craig Sager: Please Keep Fighting; Not Just For Your Life, But For What You Represent

Craig,

This one’s hard to write…

…but in retrospect: it’s nothing compared to what you’ve been and are currently going through.

As you continue to fight for your health, I want to take a quick moment to share how your impact on sports has influenced me as a fan, person, and aspiring journalist – and can only pray that it provides additional motivation to fight back against the Leukemia trying to claim you from this world.

You’re probably wondering: who the hell is this guy writing to me? Simply put: I’m a die-hard Knicks fan born in 1987 who grew up lucky enough to have no care in the world other than making sure I was available for NBA on NBC’s Sunday Showcase of high-profile games.

The Ahmad Rashads, the Bob Costas’, the Jim Grays, the Hannah Storms — all masters of their craft who were my first introduction to the NBA sideline report.

It wasn’t until you joined the Turner Family to cover the NBA in 1999 — as my exit from childhood into adolescence was complete — did my aspirations of being involved in sports media develop.

I don’t want to make that sound like an insult to your colleagues, because while some will remember your broadcasting career for your crazy suits…

Others for your epic skirmishes with Greg Popovich…

Or that time Kevin Garnett told you to burn everything you were wearing until you were “butt ass naked”

…I’m writing this today to ensure you know, no matter what happens, that you were so much more than that.

You single-handedly transformed a traditionally conservative, politically-correct occupation into an art.

You make being a reporter cool, and while there were and are currently plenty of worthy colleagues who also fall into this category – just about everyone can agree that you carved out a niche in the industry that will last forever.

You dare to be different – and not the “here’s why the majority’s opinion is wrong” different that is so rampant in sports journalism today – rather: in style, execution, and originality.

You slept in the stall next to Seattle Slew the night before he ran for the Triple Crown in 1977 so you could “soak up every aspect of the experience”, including the Champion horse’s poop you still own [1] .… you bailed the notorious Morganna a.k.a. ‘The Kissing Bandit’ out of the Kingdome Jail/Holding Facility after she ran onto the field during the 1979 MLB All-Star Game – all in exchange for a friendship and a bra [2] … at the age of 22, before you had any sort of media credentials, you jumped on to the field after Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record to record the audio of the baseball legend touching home base [3]

As you know, it plays on loop at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown to this day.

What has stood out most about you isn’t the combination of colors of your on-air wardrobe that even Harry and Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber would say are extreme … it’s your personality, passion for ‘fun’ yet professional media, and commitment to producing original content.

You are a role model for so many of us – those who don’t want to try something that hasn’t been done before, may be afraid to speak our minds in fear of it being a detriment to a long-term career, and/or have a desire to pave our own roads over uninhabited terrain.

Craig, I am a 28-year-old man who regularly wears throwback NBA jerseys out in public settings. Yes, I’m that guy.

Look, I’m even wearing one as I type this:

Every time I film something while wearing this beloved Royal Blue New York Knicks John Starks 48 Large Champion uni, I don’t even think twice about it having negative repercussions — because I imagine you the day you wore a “blue, white and yellow suit I got from Goodwill” [4] to your first TV job interview ever and landed the gig.

The point here isn’t “dressing like a weirdo is the key to fulfilling your lifelong dreams”, it’s believing that it will.

That is a level confidence I would never EVER have today unless I saw you running around my TV screen as a 12-year-old kid dressed the way you were, doing the Craig Sager things listed above that has cemented the ‘Craig Sager’ we all know today, or in many cases – the simple yet obvious pleasure you exert while performing your duties as an on-air reporter.

I could go on and on and on about all the times you’ve made a mark on the world, but, no amount of words can sufficiently honor your career — because what makes you so damn interesting is your ability to bring them to life.

As you valiantly continue to fight against your disease: please remember that we “content creators”, fans of the NBA, and/or followers of your career aren’t rooting for you just because you add entertainment to our day – we are rooting for you because you are a pioneer of creativity, a role model, and a motivating factor in many of our lives.

The one thing everyone on this planet has in common is that our bodies are all going to expire at some point. Many of us don’t know when that day will come, some do, and some are given a projection. What we learned this week from your interview with HBO is that your situation is the latter – and while we all know you’re going to fight just like you did during your original diagnosis, please know that whether your time comes sooner or later: your accomplishments, contributions, and legacy will last forever.

Thank you Craig Sager for being Craig Sager, and never once diverging from who you actually are…

…good luck to you, and one way or another — we’ll be seeing you back on the sidelines soon.